It's Time to Adopt the Mack Penny Plan

One of the freshest and most popular ideas that has been put forth this election cycle is the Mack Penny Plan. The Plan, which is original, simple, and sound, was created and introduced by Congressman Connie Mack, who recently won his party’s Senate nomination on August 14. Mack will now challenge incumbent Senator Bill Nelson in the crucial swing-state of Florida on November 6. FreedomWorks for America has proudly endorsed Connie Mack, a principled candidate who supports a constitutionally-limited government.

This year, voters are being offered a fundamental difference in philosophy about the proper size and role of government.

Every politician states that he wants to balance the budget, which is taken for granted. The question concerns how that goal is accomplished. The first option is to continue raising taxes in an attempt to “catch-up” to the amount of federal spending which, in theory, is meant to minimize or erase the deficits. This is the philosophy employed by President Obama and Senator Nelson. However, in practice, the tax increases are never able to “catch-up” and the government continues with record deficits and record levels of spending.

The other option, Mack’s proposal, is to establish a ceiling for spending. Each year, the government and all of its various departments will have to cut one penny from every dollar that it spends. By continuously reducing spending by just one percent each year, the Mack Penny Plan will slowly, but assuredly, guarantee that the debt is brought under control via spending reductions and not tax increases. Once the debt has been eliminated and the budget has been balanced, Mack’s plan places a cap on spending at 18 percent of GDP, which is the historical rate since World War II. (Under President Obama, it has risen to approximately 25 percent). If passed, this legislation is expected to balance the budget in eight years.

Lately, Senator Nelson has been trying to control the narrative of this race by discussing the personal history of Connie Mack. It is surprising that Nelson is willing to talk about history, especially when his career highlights include:

• Participating in a Senate majority that has not passed a budget in over 1,200 days• Voting for nearly $1 trillion in failed stimulus• Passing the very unpopular ObamaCare takeover of our health care system

Bill Nelson finds it difficult to avoid attacking his opponent ad hominem because he is bankrupt of solutions. While Connie Mack is offering new ideas geared towards fixing the economy, Bill Nelson is content with the status quo of more government spending and three years without a budget. And, while Nelson is content with endless growth in government, Mack is committed to ending government overreach.

With an unemployment rate that has been consistently higher than the national average, can Florida afford another six years of Bill Nelson? It’s time to elect Connie Mack and adopt the Mack Penny Plan.